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| Sunday, 19 March 2006 |
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Mohamed calls Ranil amateur by Prasad Gunewardene Senior UNP parliamentarian and former Speaker M.H.Mohamed has charged that 'seeds of communalism' have begun to grow rapidly under the leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom he has described as an 'amateur' to communal politics when compared to Mohamed's experience. Angered over Wickremesinghe's decision to let Sri Lanka Muslim Congress candidates to contest the local polls under 'Elephant" symbol, Mohamed in a strongly worded letter to his leader has claimed that the short-sighted attitude of Wickremesinghe has led to the 'annihilation' of Muslims within the UNP." There is no strategic long-term political advantage for the UNP to promote SLMC candidates",he had observed in his five-paged letter to Wickremesinghe. Mohamed in the midst of a conference at the Islamic Centre yesterday confermed to the Sunday Observer that he sent a stongly worded letter to Wickremesinghe to educate the latter on what really meant from the term 'United National Party'. Mohamed has voiced concern on behalf of all Muslims in the UNP following the recent exodus of Muslims from the UNP to join the UPFA. He has also queried whether the UNP under Wickremesinghe's leadership was trying to strengthen and expand the islandwide voter base of the SLMC at the cost of the UNP voter base. The former Speaker has warned that Wickremesinghe was forming alliances with the weakest Muslim political entities. The letter states that by giving nominations to SLMC candidates under the 'Elephant' symbol, Wickremesinghe was depriving numerous energetic and committed young UNP Muslim men and women the opportunity to display their political maturity to serve their community. "Thus the future for young aspiring Muslims within the UNP seems bleak", Mohamed had lamented. Mohamed had reiterated that the UNP was never a party that advocated support for communally based political parties and had recalled how late President J. R. Jayewardene had turned down a request by late minister Lalith Athulathmudali to support the SLMC then headed by late M. H. M. Ashraff. |
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